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(No Model.) 2 Sheets Sheet 1. T. R. R. ASHTON. MAGAZINE BOLT GUN.

No. 589,684. Patented sept. 7.11897.

"I lll E 23 d Hidattoznm 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

T. R. R. ASHTON. MAGAZINE BOLT GUN.

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UNirnD STATES THOMAS ROBERT RANEY ASHTON, OF NORTH DENILIQUIN, NEV SOUTHVALES.

MAGAZINE BOLT-GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 589,684, datedSeptember '7, 1897'.

Application filed December 5, 1896. Serial No. 614,628. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, THOMAS ROBERT RANEY ASHTON, mechanical engineer, asubject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at North Deniliquin, inthe British Colony of New South Vales, have invented certain Improve`ments in Magazine-Rifles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a magazine-rifle, and is in the nature of animprovement on the rifle shown and described in my United Statesapplication for Letters Patent filed May S, 1896, and serially numbered590,720; and its main object is to still further simplify and improvemagazine-rifles and more especially adapt them for military service.

From the description and drawings hereinafter referred to it will beseen that the various parts of the breech action are much simplified andthe number of parts reduced as compared with the riiic described in myformer specification.

In order that my invention may be easily understood, I will describe itby reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 isa centrallongitudinal section of a magazine-rifle constructed according to myinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan, and Fig. 2"l a side elevation, of thereceiver of said rifle removed from the stool; and barrel, while Fig. 1is a vertical transverse section on line l, Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a verticaltransverse section on line al 3, Fig. l, showing the rear end of thereceiver in elevation. Fig. is a vertical transverse section on line 44, Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal section of themagazine, showing the cartridges in position, while Fig. 6 is a centrallongitudinal section through the bolt of the rifle; and Figs. G and 6bare vertical transverse sections on the lines 6 and 6b, respectively, inFig. G, illustrating the manner of mounting the sand or dust cover uponthe bolt. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section through the receiver and lowerend of the magazine on line 7 7, Figs. 3 and a. Figs. S, Sa, and Si arevarious views of the sand or dust cover; and Fig. 9 is a sectional ViewOf part of the breech-block, illustrating the ejecting contrivance.

same parts in all the figures.

As a matter of convenience I will describe the rifle as a whole,subsequently limiting the claims at the end of this specification to theimprovements constituting the present invention.

A represents the stock, B the barrel, O the magazine, (for containingfour cartridges,) and D D D2 the bolt, which is adapted to be slid toand fro within the receiver E by means of the locking-lever F, whichlatter is made integral with the main or central part D' of said bolt,while G represents the usual firingpin and H a cooking-head on the rearend of said firing-pin, said cooking-head being engaged by the trigger Iwhen said pin is in either its cocked or half-cocked position.

The bolt D D' D2 is constructed, as clearly illustrated in Fig. G, byscrewing the forward end of the central portion D' into the frontportion D, as indicated at d, and by screwing the rear portion D2 intothe central portion D', as indicated at d'. This leaves the centralportion free to be rotated sufficiently to lock the bolt in its firingposition and dispenses with the comparatively large sleeve, upon which,according to my former invention, the locking-lever and lug weremounted, thereby enabling the size of the receiver E to be reduced, thusmaterially improving the appearance of the riiie and decreasing itsweight without impairing either its strength or efficiency.

An upwardly-projecting feather or lug d2 is formed in the forward end ofthe central part D' of the bolt in such a position and at such an anglethat when the bolt is withdrawn said feather will t within a slot orgroove di in the upper part of the rear end of the receivcr E and soprevent the weight of the lever F turning said vbolt round whenwithdrawn.

.I represents a vertically-arranged set-screw or retaining-pin, whichnormally projects up into the receiver and prevents the bolt D D' D2from being entirely withdrawn therefrom by engaging with a small lug jon the under side of the forward end of said bolt. The lower end of thisset-screw or retaining-pin is formed with a butterfly-headj2, and it ismade slightly roo larger near said lower end and is screw-threaded, asillustrated at j, to correspond with a i similarly-threaded boss jl onthe forward extension of the trigger-guard- By merely unscrewing theretaining-pin its upper end can be drawn down out of the path of thelugj when it is required to entirely withdraw the bolt D D Dgfrom thereceiver.

L represents the extractor,which is mounted upon the forward end of thebolt D D' D2 and is adapted to engage with the rim of the cart-ridgewhen the bolt is pushed home, so that when the bolt is withdrawn it willeX- tract said cartridge. It is made in one piece with lugs Z projectingfrom each side thereof at about one-third the distance from its forwardend, and it has a curved projection Z', upon which the sand or dustcover M bears, so as to retain it in its proper working position.

The rear end of the extractor forms a long flat spring Z2, the extremityof which is turned down and bears upon the central part D' of the bolt,thus always tending to hold the hook Z3 on its forward end down in itsoperative position.

'N denotes a spring-stop and guide-piece,

which projects into the side of the receiver E opposite to the magazineand which allows only one cartridge at a time to fallout of saidmagazine, and also acts as a guide while said cartridge is being movedinto the barrel by the bolt. It is madein one piece, and its springportion n is secured to the side of the receiver bya pin or stud n',projecting into a hole in the side of said receiver, combined with asmall binding-screwn2, also fitting into said receiver, the stock of thegun being arranged to cover said screw and pin. The forward portion ofthis spring-stop or guidepiece projects through a slot n3 in the side ofthe receiver and normally assumes the position indicated in Fig. 2, soas to allow the irst or lowermost cartridge in the magazine to drop intosuch a position in the receiverwhen the bolt is withdrawn that when thebolt is forced forward the bullet end of the cartridge will be directedinto the barrel B, and said spring is of sufficient strength to preventmore than one cartridge falling into the receiver at once, though itisnot of such a strength as to interfere with the forward movement of thecartridge and bolt, the former of which it serves to guide into thebreech end of the barrel.

The magazine C is, as before, made integral with the receiver E and iscurved upwardly and outwardly from the right of said receiver, so as tobe well out of the line of sight. Its upper portion may, if preferred,be made separate from the lowerl part and may be secured to said lowerpart or base by dovetailing or in any convenient manner-as, forinstance, by scre\vs-or, if preferred, it may be dovetailed as justmentioned and in addition have a small set-screw passed through a lug onthe rear end of the upper part of said magazine into a corresponding lugon the lower part.

The mouth or opening of the magazine C extends along its full length andopens' into the interior of the receiver immediately behind the breechend of the barrel.

In order to load the rifle, it is merely necessary to draw back the boltD and to hold the rie on one side, so that the magazine C is inclineddownwardly, when the cartridges can simply be dropped one by one intoits mouth, when they will automatically arrange themselves in positiontherein7 as shown in Fig. 5.

The forward end c of the magazine is inclined upwardly and rearwardly,so that the cartridges U will, when dropped into' it, as-

sume the position indicated in Fig. --that is, with the rim n* of eachcartridge behind the rim of the one below it. After iilling the magazinea cartridge may be placed in the barrel and the rifle turned into itsnormal position, when the bolt D D D2 (which must have previously beenpulled back to its rearmost position in order to insert said cartridges)is forced forward, pushing the cartridge in the receiver into the barrelB, ready for firing, as shown in Fig. l. The central portion D of thebolt, in addition to carrying the locking-lever F, has a lug f',projecting downwardly from it and adapted to project into an inclinedrecessj"2 in the side and lower part of the receiver E when saidlocking-lever is turned down into its locking position, as indicated inFig. 3.

The sand or dust cover Mis secured to the end pieces D D2 of the bolt,as indicated in IOO Figs. 1, 3, 6, (in, and 6b, by sliding undercut backto and bears against the rear end D2 of the bolt and always tends toforce the iirin gpin into its forward position.

The cocking-head H on the end of the firingpin is milled, as illustratedat h, to allow the ring-pin to be moved slowly forward by hand if thetrigger I be pulled down and to allow said trigger to engage in a notchh', cut for the purpose in the under side of said cocking-head, so as tohold the firing-pin in its half-cocked position. When in its full-cockedposition, said trigger I engages with the for-y ward end of thecooking-head, as indicated in Fig. l. For this purpose the trigger I isformed with a small shoulder z' and is normally held in its raisedposition by the spiral trigger-sprin g Z', while the trigger itself ismade in one piece in the form of a bell-crank lever and is fulcrumedupon a fixed pin t2, passing through the under side of the receiver, the

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rear end of said trigger being hook-shaped, as indicated at fis, so thatit can readily be placed in engagement with said pin t2, as clearlyillustrated in Fig. 1. The spring t" is preferably coiled around anupwardly-projecting inclined pin 4, which is preferably screw-threadedbelow a shoulder i5, upon which said spring bears, said screw-threadedportion being screwed into the base of the finger-guard in such a )vaythat it can be adj usted by rotating it in the required direction inorder to regulate the tension on the trigger-spring and therefore thepull required to release the iiring-pin- The spring and arrangement ofthe trigger, as above described, are effective, although they are verysimple.

It will be noticed on reference to Fig. G that the cartridge is movedforward into its firing' position by the end of the extractor. Thiskeeps said cartridge a short distance in front of the firing-pin untilit has been forced into its firing -position and the bolt locked andthere-by jammed tightly against the rear end of said cartridge, theeffect of which will be tocause the extractor-.hook to engage with therim of the cartridge, as shown in Fig. l. By this means it is impossibleto explode the cartridge until the bolt has been locked.

To insure the ejection of the cartridge when the bolt is withdrawn, anotch O is formed in the inner side of the receiver a little more than acartridge-length from the breech end of the barrel, as indicated in Fig.9, so that the side of the cartridge-rim opposite t-o that engaged bythe extractor will contact therewith in traveling backward, and thusinsure the ejection of the cartridge, as indicated in said Fig. 0.

In order to prevent the possibility of the bolt being accidentallyunlocked before the piece is fired, a small vertically-slidingspringactuated catch I may be arranged to slide through the bottom ofthe receiver and to engage with a recess p in said bolt when the latteris in its forward position and before the trigger is pulled, so as tolock said bolt against rotation. This catch P is connected with thefront end of the trigger I by means of aA pinand-slot connection p insuch a manner that when the trigger is pulled said catch will at thesame time be withdrawn, although said trigger will subsequently be freeto engage with the cocking-head in the ordinary manner, when required.

Having now particularly described and ascertain ed the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim/is l. In a magazine-ride, the combination with the receiverhaving an interior inclined recess fg, of a bolt consisting of threeparts D, D and D2, the central part D being externally threaded at oneend and internally threaded at the other, and the end pieces D, D2,being respectively screwed on and in said threaded ends, and alocking-lever and lug formed integrally with said central piece D, thelug being arranged to engage the recess f2, substantially as describedand for the purpose specified. i

2. In a magazine-rifle, a bolt made in three parts, the two end partsbeing rotatably mounted on the central part, a locking-lever and lugcarried by said central part, an upwardly projecting longitudinalfeather d2 formed on the forward portion of said central part, incombination with a receiver provided with a longitudinal slot in itsrearnpper portion arranged to receive said feather or lug, whereby thecentral portion of the bolt may be turned independently of the endpieces but is prevented from ,turning when in its retracted position,substantially as described.

3. In a rifle, a trigger made in the form of a bell-crank lever one armof which extends horizontally rearward and terminates in an open hook orloop, a iixed pin detachably engaged by said hook or loop, a shoulderformed on the upper side of said horizontal arm and arranged to engagethe cooking-head, aspring arranged beneath the horizontal arm of thetrigger for maintaining the said shoulder in engagement with thecooking-head, and means foradjusting the tension of the spring,substantially as described.

4. In a rifle the combination with a sliding bolt, of an extractorprovided with lateral lugs projecting from its opposite sides andjournaled in bearings formed on the forward end of the bolt, the rearportion of said extractor terminating in a fiat spring having a down-ICO wardly-turned end resting on the bolt, a

curved projection formed on the extractor between said lugs, and a sandor dustl cover detachablyfxed on the bolt and resting at its forward endon said projection, substantially as described.

5. In a rifle,the combination with a receiver and a sliding boltarranged therein, and provided with dovetailed projections on its ends,of a sand or dust cover provided on its under side with dovetailedgrooves adapted to engage said projections and hold said cover on thebolt, and provided on one side near its rear end with a slot m2, and alocking-lever carried by the bolt and arranged to engage said slot inthe cover and lock the latter against longitudinal movement on the bolt,substantially as described.

G. In a rifie, the combination with the rotatable sliding bolt providedwith a recess in its periphery and the trigger, of a verticallymovablebolt-catch loosely connected with the trigger, and a spring for normallyholding said bolt-catch in engagement with the recess in said bolt tolock the latter against rotation until the cartridge has been exploded,substantially as described.

THOMAS ROBERT RANEI' ASHTON.

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